Government of Assam amends cow protection law to allow inter-district transport
The bill also calls for harsher penalties for violations of the law, for which it proposes new provisions on investigative procedures
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government on Monday introduced an amendment to the Assam Cattle Conservation Act, 2021, to allow inter-district transport of cattle for agriculture and animal husbandry. The changes also call for harsher penalties for violators.
The amendments were introduced four months after the Assam Legislative Assembly passed a law to control the slaughter, destruction and transportation of cattle. The law previously banned the transportation of cattle from and through the state without documentation and banned the sale of beef within a five-kilometer radius of temples.
However, transportation of cattle will not be allowed in any of the districts adjoining the international border.
On the first day of the winter session of the Legislative Assembly, on behalf of Chief Minister Himanta Bishwa Sharma, Minister for Industries and Commerce Chandra Mohan Patwari presented the Assam Go-Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in the House.
The bill also calls for harsher penalties for violations of the law, for which it proposes new provisions on investigative procedures.
Under the law passed in August, anyone found guilty of violating the law could face up to eight years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.
The new bill seeks to empower an investigating officer to seize property documents of violators or their family members.
The state government has said that once the bill becomes law, it will be able to allow transportation of cattle for business and animal husbandry to agencies and farms registered under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine.
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